Spencer Johnson’s million-dollar payday shows a window to the future of Test cricket

Spencer Johnson picked up a million dollar payday in the IPL auction on Tuesday night which, ROBERT CRADDOCK writes, is a sign of the times.

The impromptu round of applause that echoed around the departure lounge at Brisbane airport on Wednesday summed up the challenges and opportunities of cricket’s complex new world.

Debonair fast bowler Spencer “The Mild Thing’’ Johnson was given hearty welcome by his Brisbane Heat teammates when he walked into the lounge as cricket’s latest millionaire after landing a $1.78 million Indian Premier League deal with the Gujarat Titans.

The joy of it was accentuated because they remember it was just over a year ago he walked into Allan Border Field as an occasional greenkeeper and rookie fast bowler without much at all.

Joining Johnson in the lounge was Callum Vidler, the 18-year-old Australian under-19 fast bowler who just finished school this month.

A penny for his thoughts?

Vidler would not be human if he didn’t let the occasion inspire him.

Let’s say he gets a start as a first-class fast bowler and shoots the lights out for Queensland. He might still spend summers stuck in the Test queue behind the likes of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson and Michael Neser.

Spencer Johnson (centre) has nabbed a massive payday in the Indian Premier League in what Robert Craddock says is a sign of cricket’s future. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images.

But the T20 road could be a veritable highway to heaven. Johnson proved that.

On the back of one great summer with the Heat, he’s struck gold. One more decent IPL contract and he will be a long way towards setting himself up for life.

Vidler might never think he is going to be a Starc or a Cummins. But here, right in front of him in the lounge, was a greenkeeper made good with whom he could relate.

Batsmen may be the glamour boys of T20 cricket but bowlers can beat them to the big pay packets.

Starc’s stunning $4.42 million deal with the Kolkata Knight Riders means he can earn in two months more than twice he can for playing for Australia.

The size of these contracts have captivated the cricket world and the needle is set to head further skywards.

When the great Indian paceman Jasprit Bumrah comes off contract, the word is he could get $6 million a year.

Despite the fact that Australian players have been major beneficiaries of the big deals, Australian cricket is still in solid shape because players such as Starc and Cummins still want to play for their countries.

But in less-paid national teams there are going to be more stories like 35-year-old West Indian mystery spinner Sunil Narine, who last played Test cricket a decade ago and ended his T20 career for the Windies four years ago to travel the globe as a T20 journeyman.

While all this is happening, Test cricket has to scrap hard for its future.

In the Around The Wicket podcast hosted by Neroli Meadows on ESPN, Kayo and Fox Sports, former Australian captain Michael Clarke revealed his concern for the five-day game.

“I went to a Christmas lunch for my radio show on Friday,’’ Clarke said. “We were sitting in a sports pub and there must have been 20 TVs, and on the far right TV that no one could really see was the Test match.

“And on every other television was the NFL. I think (this summer) we’ll get a really good look in terms of what parents do.

“If they can only afford to take their kid to a day of Test match cricket or a BBL game, I’ve got a funny feeling it’s going to be BBL.’’

Originally published as Spencer Johnson’s million-dollar payday shows a window to the future of Test cricket